milton election 2006

Door knocking tonight was a bit chilly. It didn’t really rain for a long time but for most of the afternoon the drizzle fell in true autumn fashion. I can’t believe that autumn is just around the corner. Plans are underway for my son’s 6th birthday party and I hope that it’s warm enough to be outside.

The past couple of nights at the doors seemed to uncover similar themes as with the weather. In between the many comments on “Trudeau Raceway” and the excessive speeds drivers reach (even on a drizzly night in September) confusion about a local park, and providing people information on how they find out if their names are on the voters list *hint: just drop me an email at mike@mikecluett.ca *

A lot of people I spoke with agreed with me that we need to work at reducing speed limits in residential streets and have an increased police presence to enforce these limits. You can have all the by-laws and regulations you want. If people don’t comply…they are meaningless.

It really doesn’t make sense to have an area heavily populated by young families such as ourselves with a speed limit of 50KM/hr. Natural driving urges will bring that closer to 60KM/h (as most do on the 400 series highways) and the potential for an accident increases.

Even while talking to people just off “Trudeau Raceway” I saw some crazy stuff on the side streets. There was a driver who tried to pass someone on the left hand side on a two lane road because the driver wasn’t driving fast enough for them. People are getting frustrated at the level of non compliance of the posted speed limits and they all seem to agree its going to take a tragedy to open some eyes. There were some that have lived in Hawthorne Village for close to 5 years and they have given up trying to get some action from local levels of government.

The feeling of change is definately in the air.

Yesterday wasn’t a fun day. For those of you who know, my beloved PT Cruiser has been on the wrong side of another vehicle a few times in her life. Yesterday was just another bad day, but with a construction dump truck.

I was leaving home to head to Mississauga. Heading towards Derry Road on Armstrong I was behind a large dump truck. The driver moved the truck over to the far left hand side of the lane but not seeing anything to indicate where he was going, I held back. He moved up closer to the line and stopped. Again there was no indicator. There was enough room on the right hand side where I could safely go through so I moved up a bit to look for traffic headed eastbound on Derry Road. Again, I glanced over at the truck and saw no indicator to show he was turning right. I moved up slightly and when the eastbound traffic was clear, I was ready to make my turn. Unfortunately, so was the truck and it ended up turning into my car on the drivers side from the back quarter panel to the front.

Long story short, no one was hurt except the car and a few disgruntled drivers behind us having to deal with a little more back up than normal.

With that being said, I urge everyone out there to exercise even more caution than normal when construction vehicles are involved. They are much bigger than most cars and things like this are becoming more and more the norm according to the police officers I spoke with recently.

On the bright side of things, it’s nice to see an increased police presence at the intersection of Yates and Bennett. For those of you who don’t know, there was a stop sign recently installed about 2-3 weeks ago. From that point on there have been several cars that have not stopped properly and / or simply ignored the signs entirely.

With our kids back to school and the good weather, it’s important we open our eyes a little wider and take care while driving.The police have been stopping people with a no tolerance mindset which is good.

They have been right there, in plain view of drivers and still, tickets have been issued. There have been some people who have noticed people not driving as fast on the streets as well. This is a good sign.

So, as for the car, I have to wait until Monday when I hear back from the PT’s doctor (Miltown Collision) and until then, I’m headed out to knock on a few doors, then head out to the Salvation Army Quarter Carnival at Pinelands Park on Trafalgar Road (north of 401). Hopefully the rain will hold off for the rest of the afternoon.

I’ll see you at the doors.

Mike

Ive noticed recently that its getting darker much earlier than expected. I was out on Beaty Trail this evening and noticed it was just after 8pm when it started to get dark. I did manage to get to quite a few homes this evening and spoke a lot of people.

I ran into a lady who was doing some cleaning in her garage…I scared the bejeepers out of her as I walked up the driveway (I AM very sorry!) and she was disappointed her husband wasnt there as he kept up to date on municipal issues and had a few questions. I will be making my way back to their house because his input is needed. As with everyone in the Town of Milton, their opinions and views should be heard.

While she was describing her husbands passion for municipal politics all I could think of is the Citizens Advisory Committee … he would be a great addition! Its important for people who live in the ward to be involved.

Another gentleman I spoke with also made mention the fact that his voice seems to have gone unheard. Each time he has commented on certain issues with the town, he hasnt received the response he would have liked. “You have to live here on a daily basis to know whats going on” he told me.

Most of the issues that I faced this evening had to do with the Trudeau raceway as it was called, speeding, parklands and neighbourhood safety topped the list of concerns. Seems to be a universal concern of many people in Ward One.

As an aside, someone called me “the guy with the great fridge magnet!” He was referring to my campaign magnet which includes some frequently used numbers, as well as my website and email address.

If you would like one of these magnets, just send me an email at mike@mikecluett.ca and I will have one of our campaign team drop one off for you. It does come in quite handy.

Another day and another 60-70 homes down, and I cant even imagine how many homes to go before November 13th. I better get some more rest.

Just as reminder the Salvation Army KHI Community is having their Carnival on Saturday September 9th starting at 3pm at Pineland Farms off Trafalger Road (north of the 401). There is going to be a bake sale, BBQ, bouncy castle, prizes and lots of fun.

I will see you at the doors!